A good way to develop the collage for me is to start with a story, and see where the story takes me. It’s a little bit what I used when doing the Seamless Image, but this time, there is simply a “meaning” to my story, not an “altered meaning” with the manipulated image and its components.

The first story is about a woman who is dreaming. The dream has taken her over: her body has become a brooding sky with a hint of rainbow. Her head rests on a book, her face transformed into a golden meditating Buddha.

Her living room, has become a park at dusk, with the sun setting amidst the gritty haze of distant fires. The books in her living room have been invaded by small birds: blackbirds, crows, green herons, sparrows, all busy trying to pick the words off the pages. Some of the birds have already taken off with their chosen word. They are all to meet at the upcoming Conference of the Birds.

The second story is about the Conference of the Birds. A segue to the previous story, this story’s idea comes from the title of a book I love, The Conference of the Birds, a book of poems in Persian by Farid ud-Din Attar.In my collage, each attending bird presents a feather along with a meaningful word. The birds are listening rapturously as their leader, seated on rich pillows, lays the words together to form a poem. The poem speaks of inner Beauty, of Courage, of Vision, of Simplicity. In the distance, the woman has woken up and is approaching the shores of the conference in a small boat, ready to receive the poem. She brings with her magical seeds for the birds and their leader, to make them strong in their migrating journey and sing joyously every day.